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Indian armed forces joint exercises 'Dakshin Prahar' conclude

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, Dec 11, IRNA
India-Armed Forces-Exercises
The Indian Air Force along with Coast Guard and Navy have concluded the first ever combat war games to test their reactions in the event of any armed threats to the southern region of the country.

The week-long exercise code named 'Dakshin Prahar' took place in the backdrop of possible threats from Tamil Tigers after acquisition of air assets though Armed forces' top brass have repeatedly played down the threat, Indian national TV news portal reported here.

Frontline fighters Mirage 2000, Sukhoi 30's, Maritime interdiction Jaguars, Naval and Coast Guard warships and army's air defense artillery were used in the exercises which tested the forces' ability to ward off attacks on 'high value' assets in the region.

Ground-to-air missiles and air defense artillery of the army were also tested.

Though the high value assets were not named by Defense Ministry officials, the reference was to possible threats to country's indigenous Fast breeder Nuclear Reactors located at Kalpakkam close to the eastern shoreline near Chennai.

In the war games, satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV'S) were brought into play to detect possible enemy air and sea intrusions, which could lead to threats to valued assets.

It even covered the country's island territories.

IAF officials described the tactics used in the war games in specialized services jargon but what was tested appeared to be using the country's ability to strike at threats from the air at stand off distances.

"Operational tactics were formulated to cater to contemporary threat scenario involving Beyond Visual Range (BVR) weaponry, state of the art avionics laden combat aircraft and far reaching air defense weapons," an IAF statement said.

IAF also deployed its specialized Garuda force with their MANPADS (Man portable air defense systems).

The exercises also simulated reactions to counter threats from Sea by terrorists.

For the war games, Mirages operated from Thiruvanthapuram and Dindigul, Sukhois from bases in Gujarat and North-Western Rajasthan and Jaguars from Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu.

"The fighters simulated friendly and hostile forces over long aerial ranges," IAF officials said, adding that air assets were brought into play from long distances with the use of mid-air refuellers to facilitate off-base operations.

Though the IAF did not spell it out, the tactics used in the war games were apparently focussed on detecting any low level air and sea intrusions.

LTTE, which recently acquired some fixed wing assets, have used them to surprise Sri Lankan armed forces by carrying out daring air aids in air bases deep inside Sinhala heartland.

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